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Supercars has detailed its plan to send a Ford Mustang and a Chevrolet Camaro to the USA for wind tunnel testing in December.
Supercars has long been working on a plan to send cars to the US for the wind tunnel testing in the off-season as it continues to grapple with aero parity between the two models.
While the Vehicle Aerodynamic Controlled Testing (VCAT) has proven robust enough in the past, the spec nature of the Gen3 cars has exposed the requirement to have aero values not just close, but identical.
That means Supercars has been forced to lock in a wind tunnel programme for the very first time, with testing to take place at Windshear in North Carolina in December.
The two homologation teams Triple Eight (GM) and Dick Johnson Racing (Ford) will send one car each to the States to be assessed in the Windshear facility.
Supercars has also confirmed that the long-awaited transient dyno testing will kick off in Melbourne next month.
Parts have been flown in from the US and Europe to upscale a transient dyno in Melbourne which will be used to better test the two control engines.
It has long been suspected that there are differences in acceleration between the 5.4-litre quad cam Ford V8 and the 5.7-litre pushrod Chevrolet V8 – however that couldn’t be properly measured on a static dyno.
Torque sensors have also arrived in Australia and will soon be in operation.
To oversee this unprecedented level of parity testing, two new roles within the Supercars technical department have been created – Technical Category Director and Senior Data Engineer.
It has not been announced who will fill those roles.
“These are worlds-best practice measures we are implementing and have been approved after months of discussions, research and data analysis,” said Supercars CEO Shane Howard.
“Supercars has never undertaken full scale wind tunnel testing previously, however with the introduction of Gen3 has come the most significant change in the history of the sport.
“As a technical parity category, we strive to ensure that we can provide as much information as possible to teams that are now using more control components than ever.
“By implementing these changes and carrying out these tests, our goal is to provide teams and our Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) with as much data as possible to produce best outcomes for those competing in our championship.”
Howard added that the testing plan was devised off the back of a fact-finding mission to the States which included meetings with Ford, General Motors and NASCAR.
“We engaged in productive discussions with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and NASCAR,” he explained.
“Our discussions with NASCAR have helped us to map out our testing programme at the Windshear facility.
“With these tests now confirmed, the objective now is to embark on a long-term assessment programme in close collaboration with all relevant parties. This programme will set unprecedented benchmarks and align Supercars with world-best practice, ensuring the category’s growth and success.”
Parity changes are set to be introduced for the Gold Coast this weekend with Ford and its teams waiting on the green light for an updated front and rear aero package.
